We asked three stars of the movie Never Let Me Go (about a group of children raised for a dark purpose) to recall passages from the novel that moved them.

Keira KnightleyThe opinionated Ruth

Favorite line: "We were always just too young to understand properly the latest piece of information. But of course we'd take it in at some level, so that before long all this stuff was there in our heads without us ever having examined it properly."

Why she picked it: "It sums up the perfect portrait of humanity Ishiguro creates through the eyes of his [characters]— and the quiet horror that makes the book so brilliant."

Carey MulliganThe watchful Kathy

Favorite line: "I keep thinking about... these two people in the water, trying to hold on to each other... The current's too strong. They've got to let go, drift apart. That's how I think it is with us. It's a shame, Kath, because we've loved each other all our lives. But in the end, we can't stay together forever."

Why she picked it: "This passage moved me so much. Tommy's words "It's a shame, Kath" are so small, but there's such enormous feeling in what he is saying."

Andrew GarfieldThe object of the girls' affection, Tommy

Favorite line:"If we're really going, we'll have to decide about the animals. You know, choose the best ones to take along... We'll have to do it quite carefully."

Why he picked it: "Tommy's simple, naive way of viewing the world seems just, so it's devastating when the true mechanics of life are revealed. This line is full of the hope we all have that someone is watching over us."